When we introduced our billing system we tried to make things as easy as possible on the customers. One of the ways we did that was to automatically spread any underpayment across all future installments. So, if their payment had been $100/month and they missed a month and had four payments left, the remaining payments would be $125 each instead of $100.
You might or might not be surprised by how many confused calls that created.
We definitely were surprised. We had tried to be nice, but in doing so we had made things too complicated. So we’re returning to simple. As of now, if the insured’s bill is $100 per month and they miss the bill (or under-pay the bill), the full amount they missed will be added to the minimum due on the next installment, exactly the way it works on pretty much every other bill (credit card, utility, etc.).
We’ve also found that a small number of customers cause the majority of late payments, cancellations and reinstatements. To encourage those customers to keep on schedule, we’ve introduced a $9 late fee. It will be applied to any invoice that is not paid by its due date.
Late payments and under-payments cause lots of problems and significant service expense and issues. These changes will minimize the number of customers who receive cancellation notices or otherwise require additional special handling, and should make understanding the billing much easier for both you and your customers.
We know retaining customers and preventing unnecessary additional interactions is important to you. We look forward to these changes helping reach those goals.
